Tag Man

A Joe Gunther Novel

By: Archer Mayor

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Across Brattleboro, Vermont, rich people (some with dark secrets) are waking up in their high security, alarm-equipped homes to find a Post-it note stuck to their bedside tables reading, “You’re it.” There is little sign of disturbance anywhere, nothing stolen (that anyone admits) and only a bit of expensive food eaten as a signature. The press loves the story and dubs the burglar the Tag Man. But who is he? And what’s he actually doing? In fact, he’s quickly running for his life, for what he discovers in one of these houses appears to be proof of a heinous string of murders. But is it?

Joe Gunther, struggling to recover from a devastating personal loss, leads his VBI team to untangle the many conflicting pieces of evidence, while the burglar himself struggles for survival in the no-man’s land between the police and the villains. No one knows what to believe or who to trust. Tag Man is running for his life in a way he never imagined possible. No one knows who’s watching as they sleep, or who truly did what.

Tag Man is critically acclaimed author Archer Mayor at his very finest.

Crack another case with Joe Gunther.

©2011 Archer Mayor (P)2011 AudioGO

good story poor narrator

Archer Mayor is an enjoyable writer and this was a good story, good characters, interesting plot. However, the narrator did voices so badly that it was really distracting and I almost stopped listening. He read the narrative very well. Someone should tell him that less is more doing voices.

Good entertainment!

Always nice to listen to Dufris, and I read Mayor's Red Herring, so thought I'd try this one - great listen, slightly creepy premise - good stuff! Recommended.

Original storyline

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The originality of the storyline and the flawed protagonists were what made it a 4 star read for me. (As the owner of over 500 hundred audiobooks from audible 5 stars are reserved for exceptional books such as the Girl with the Hornest's trilogy) I need not feel this author resorted to the the mystery formula so many authors employ. Main character in peril and while solving mystery meets love of life with or without romantic conflict added, together after several close calls and near misses pair prevail solve mystery and/or catch bad guys regardless of how inept or ill prepared they are and sail off in sunset to live happily ever after. If a series you know author will never allow main character to come to any harm and risk losing audience ( Kudos to Karin Slaughter and her Grant County series for bucking the trend) Here is an another author who has dared write a novel where everyone does not end up finding the love of their life while battling criminal masterminds and escaping death at every turn and suceed only by sheer dumb luck. His characters are flawed yet believable and the storyline not dictated by the trend of the moment. I would recommend this author to friends and read other titles written by him. It is time to get away from books cranked out so quickly by authors who have achieved best selling status. There are only so many times you can read the same book with different characters and locations. So hats off to Mr. Mayer for daring to write what is not the flavor of the month but his own thoughts and ideas.

TAG MAN

Good story but once again, very poor performance. So tired of Mr Dufris making Gunther sound like 85 years old. Stll missing Tom Taylorson.!

Story line doesn't work.

For some unknown reason this guy takes joy in rambling through homes at night while the owners are asleep in their beds. He has control issues and just wants to prove he can do it. Then he finds something he doesn't have control over, which might sound interesting, but the story line just doesn't work.

Predictable and mildly entertaining

I really wanted to like this audiobook because there were aspects of the plot I thought might be intriguing. Right away, the listener learns the identity of the Tag Man. The writer doles out snippets. Small details and fragments about his life but these snapshots do little to explain his bizarre behavior. The reader is left to speculate and ponder over his mental disorder.
The story drags on at points, until finally the Tag Man happens upon a strange scene. The writer then switches gears, taking the reader through a maze of circumstances; daring you to solve the puzzle before getting to the end of the story. In spite of the writers efforts to spin a web of mystery and secrets; after the Tag Man's discovery, the story loses its momentum. And truthfully, there was little steam to be had. If you're looking for mild entertainment, this audiobook might suit your needs but it isn't a good read (or listen) for a diehard sleuth enthusiast.

The Performance Was Great

This story is a little predictable and lacks imagination. I thought a LOT more could have been done to spice up the overall story with more descriptions of what takes place while he was in the houses. I thought the voices and the performance was first rate and actually kept one interested by keeping the less than engrossing story moving.

Can’t get passed the different narrator

If you’ve listened to other books in the series, you’ll be disappointed by the narrator. The plot was a little thin, but would have been better if the voices weren’t so far off from the rest of the books in the series.

'Nuther Great Gunther...!!!

Excellent addition to the series. Narration has definitely improved from tolerable to acceptable even though Joe Gunther still sounds like Homer Simpson. Mr Mayor has crafted a really Deft rendering and utilizes all of our favorite friends. It's really a couple of stories rolled into one with more great sleuthing and some well done suspense that grabs you when you least suspect. Mr Mayor is a brilliant Wordsmith. I so much admire his ability to wend a winding yarn. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Tagman Is A Creep

Great story, characters and narration, but the character of the Tagman was gross, especially given his daughter’s involvement; not a sympathetic character, but I guess true to Joe Gunther’s assertion that we are all flawed and multi-layered.
Always a favorite series;)

Yet another great story

Wonderful storyline but sad at the same time. Getting used to the narrator’s voice. Much better than the previous one but cannot match the main one

Very enjoyable. Very happy with this narrator

Still enjoying the Joe Gunther series and this narrator is very good. Yes it's annoying when the narrator changes half way through, but you just have to get used to it . There was one awful narrator for one book, but this guy is fine!

Excellent series

The series has had me enthralled from its onset. I have become so emotionally involved with the characters, and the complex plots differing in each book so far has kept me intrigued. Contrary to other reviews I’ve read, I have liked the new narrator very much, although I was at first disappointed that Tom Taylerson was not narrating. I am looking forward to listening to the rest of the series.

Good tale but it feels odd .

A very good tale well written with as always good characters. because I've listened to these books in sequence I really got to love Tom Taylorson reading so the change fo reader while he is a good reader it still a bit jarring.

New narrator off putting

I cannot go on with this. I am following the series but these voices do not work for me.

This narrator

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Gunter series very much but I’m sorry I cannot deal with this narrator, his voice for Joe Gunther is appalling.
Very disappointed

Entertaining

The storyline was enjoyable and an interesting slant on the established characters, while the new characters suited the narrator better than his previous readings
It’s an adjustment when the narrator is changed, especially when the style is so different, and not as successful with key characters, but if you’re not bothered about following in order, this is a cosy .small town meets big city’ procedural style episode